Iraq's top Shia cleric calls for end to Israeli 'aggression' on Lebanon

AFP , Monday 23 Sep 2024

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shia Islam's highest authority in Iraq, appealed Monday for "every possible effort" to end Israeli "aggression" against Lebanon.

Ayatollah Ali Sistani
File Photo: Iraq’s top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani Reuters

 

Sistani, in a statement on his website, called for "the exercise of every possible effort" to end this "barbaric aggression and to protect the Lebanese people".

Sistani, 94, urged "believers" to "contribute towards easing the suffering" of the Lebanese people and help "meet their humanitarian needs".

Such comments from Sistani are relatively rare.

In August he urged an end to the "genocidal war" in Gaza and warned over the risk of a regional escalation with potentially "catastrophic consequences".

His new statement came during the intense Israeli bombing of Lebanon, which Beirut said had killed 100 people and wounded more than 400 in the south of the country.

Iraq's government is dominated by pro-Iran parties and has strong ties with Lebanon and the Hezbollah movement.

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